Inspired by Degas’s famous painting “La Répétition au violon,” this project highlights the unique connection between music and dance rooted in the Baroque era. The “pochette,” a delicate small violin, was a favourite tool of dancing masters for centuries: it allowed them to accompany their students, seamlessly transitioning from gesture to melody, thereby bringing choreographies to life.

As Maurice Béjart wrote, the pochette is much more than just an instrument; it is a symbol of union – between music and dance, sound and movement, ear and step. It was used to teach dances like the minuet, as seen in Molière’s “Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme,” and inspired young dancers, as if stepping right out of Degas’s paintings onto the stage and into the living choreographic tradition.

During this event, luthier Claude Lebet will offer an illustrated lecture dedicated to the pochette, tracing its history, aesthetics, and fundamental role in dance education during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The project will take place at the Historical Museum, a venue steeped in history where visitors can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of ballet’s origins, the time when dance was asserting itself as a distinct art form and becoming a central element of court culture. Surrounded by ancient instruments and period documents, attendees will feel the intimate link between music and movement.

The evening will conclude with a performance of Baroque dances, as they were danced at the court of Louis XIV, performed by a Baroque ensemble and the dance group from the Geneva High School of Music. The pochette will then resume its accompanying role, breathing new vitality into ancient choreographies.

A journey to the heart of elegance and refinement, where sound guides dance and movement becomes music.